Dean Exports Successful Health Plan Model to New Market

MADISON, Wis., July 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dean Health Plan (DHP) signed an agreement with Green Bay, Wisconsin-based Prevea Health and St. Vincent Hospital to offer health insurance products through an integrated, managed care provider network in northeastern Wisconsin.

Beginning in the fall of this year, pending approval from the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, products will be sold to residents and businesses in the Green Bay, Brown County and surrounding region. The products will feature a proprietary network of hospitals, physicians and ancillary providers that is based on Prevea's multi-specialty physician group and partner hospitals, including St. Mary's and St. Vincent's Hospitals in Green Bay and St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan. Products will be marketed under the brand name of Prevea360 Health Plan and will be underwritten and administered by Dean Health Plan.

"Over the past 28 years, Dean Health Plan, and our owners, Dean Clinic and SSM Health Care of Wisconsin (SSMHC/WI), have been approaching health care differently than much of the country," said Lon Sprecher, DHP President and CEO. "Dean's success revolves around aligning the interests of doctors, hospitals and insurance providers in one integrated system that shares the risks and rewards associated with patient outcomes. That's a model we feel compelled to replicate in other markets, and Prevea Health is an ideal pairing of values and interests."

Like the Dean/SSM Healthcare of Wisconsin system, Prevea Health is aligned with its own network of physicians and hospitals. Together, they offer two critical components of health care delivery, according to Craig Samitt, MD, MBA, President and CEO of Dean Clinic.

"What's missing in the Green Bay region and other markets is a partner with the expertise to integrate all three components of health care delivery — hospital, physician and, now, insurance," Dr. Samitt explained. "Dean Health Plan's brand of managed care is a great fit with Prevea Health and St. Vincent Hospital, as we, together, focus on efficiently providing the most effective patient care, and rewarding an emphasis on preventive care and management of chronic diseases."

Sprecher noted that as health care in the U.S. continues to evolve, Dean will continue to look for opportunities to spread its brand of health care integration. "The path to quality health care for all is cooperation with the health care industry itself," Sprecher said. "In the end, relationships like the one created between Dean and Prevea Health and St. Vincent Hospital will provide better care, at a lower cost and improve patient satisfaction.

Dean Health Plan Communications

(608) 827-4460

pete.thompson@deancare.com

Established in 1983, Dean Health Plan is the insurance services subsidiary of Dean Health System and SSM Health Care. It maintains a position of leadership in insurance services through a physician-led integrated health system.

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Source: Dean Clinic